Apple supplier Rayprus to set up manufacturing facility in Bengaluru

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Apple supplier Rayprus to set up manufacturing facility in Bengaluru

Apple supplier Rayprus to set up manufacturing facility in Bengaluru

Industry News
Mar 19,24

Experts said that the addition of leading component players in addition to the big ticket suppliers just means that a lot more pieces of Apple's India story are falling in place

Apple supplier Rayprus to set up manufacturing facility in Bengaluru

After gorilla glass maker Corning announced that it would set up a manufacturing facility in Tamil Nadu, another Apple supplier, Rayprus Technologies, is set to make its manufacturing foray in India. The Foxconn subsidiary that makes high-quality precision camera and lens solutions is looking to set up its facility within the sprawling new Foxconn campus coming up in Bengaluru, according to economic times (ET).

"Rayprus is coming to the Foxconn park near the airport (in Bengaluru)," one person cited.

"Right now, they're in advanced talks with Foxconn to set up in the new facility."

Experts said that the addition of leading component players in addition to the big ticket suppliers just means that a lot more pieces of Apple's India story are falling in place. They said that component players setting up manufacturing facilities and becoming part of the India supply chain nicely builds the foundation blocks for Apple's diversification story.

In December last year, ET had reported that Apple was in advanced talks with component makers like Rayprus as part of the iPhone maker’s concerted move to deepen its manufacturing operations in the world’s second-largest smartphone market.

Taiwan’s Foxconn, which is also the world's largest contract manufacturer, is investing $2.7 billion on the factory and assorted facilities in Bengaluru. The 300-acre campus in the IT investment region (ITIR), near the Kempegowda International Airport has the capacity to assemble 20 million smartphones annually and will also be Foxconn's largest such unit in India, when commissioned.

Another source said that while talks were on and moving at a steady clip, the companies were being tight-lipped about the size and scale of investment or the details of what was being finalised.

Queries sent to Rayprus and Foxconn remained unanswered as of press time on 14 March, 2024 .As per its website, Rayprus has production plants in Shenzhen, Jincheng and Foshan in China, Taichung in Taiwan and Mexico in North America.

Rayprus' move to make in India is significant as it comes months after another one of Apple's key suppliers Corning committed to a Rs 1,000 crore investment to set up a manufacturing unit in Tamil Nadu. Rayprus' India manufacturing foray is also in line with Foxconn’s expanding footprint in the nation as well as Apple's strategy to diversify its supply chain away from China.

The lens maker's attempt to set up within the Foxconn premises in Bengaluru is also important as it marks a shift in strategy towards what experts termed the 'Nokia model' of manufacturing wherein multiple specialised suppliers were housed within the same facility to aid smooth operations.

"This is an approach Apple's key manufacturing partners would be looking to adopt which has been common for other vertical companies such as Samsung, Nokia, Oppo and others," Neil Shah, vice president of Counterpoint Research told ET. "Nokia at one point had tens of ecosystem suppliers around their campus and that's what we see with OPPO and others as well."

This model entails a more just-in-time approach by being focused on co-designing, co-testing, better quality control rather than being discrete.

"This is the model we should see in the future for many of Apple's suppliers including Foxconn to success and scale in India not just catering to Apple but other opportunities as well. It helps a lot because it saves time for the engineers to travel between cities and they can work on different elements in one campus to churn out quality products on time," he said.

Apple's largest suppliers like Foxconn and Pegatron already have large operations in India. Its other supplier Wistron which has a facility in Karnataka has been taken over by Tata Electronics, which is the company's only Indian vendor, to expand its capability in contract manufacturing of high-end electronic items and accessories.

Corning setting up a manufacturing plant to bring their gorilla glass making capabilities to India is another indication of the tide turning in India's favour as regards Apple.